The idea of 'Restaging' in photography can be interpreted in lots of different ways and can involve a return, retake or a revisit to a memory, space or time. The 'restaged' photo becomes an opportunity to reflect on the passing of time and our changing relationship to experience in both a performative and experimental way. Participants this week were shown a range of examples of artworks where the photographer had 'restaged' something - for example, a dream, an earlier photo, a memory etc. For the next session they will need to produce a work that 'restages.' We considered who or what is being 'restaged'? Why? And for what effect or purpose?
One of the works we focussed on is by Hetain Patel: 'The Jump' (2015) is based on a childhood memory Hetain has of jumping off his Grandma's sofa as (his childhood hero) Spiderman. He recreated this childhood fantasy in his Grandma's living room, but this time as an adult and with his whole family as an audience. In the context of being second generation South Asian living in a northern city in the UK, this gesture takes on a whole new meaning and in an interview he describes this act as a metaphor for the 'leap of faith' his parents had taken coming to the UK as well as a reflection on the role models that inspired him as a child, in particular representations of masculinity in pop culture, with characters (such as Spiderman) who often wore a 'second skin' which concealed their real identity.
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